


Adoration

by tikkikwami



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone: Amnesty (Podcast)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Journaling, Love Potion/Spell, M/M, Trans Duck Newton, scrapbooking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 05:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19056010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tikkikwami/pseuds/tikkikwami
Summary: Sweating from nervousness, Ned opened the bottle. It did smell like roses, so it seemed like his lie was holding up so far. But he had no idea what this might do to him. If Dani seemed okay with letting a stranger have it, it’s probably not poison, right? Right, he convinced himself, pouring about a fourth of the vial into his tea.Duck walked into the room, looking tired as all hell. As usual, Indrid was by his side. “I’d love some tea,” he yawned, taking Ned’s mug out of his hand, presumably just to get under his skin. Ned watched helplessly as he took a large sip.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got lots of help with the dialogue and plot of this fic from the Indruck discord - specifically Sheepy, Kailee, Willow, Indrid, and Hex. All the poem lyrics were written by Sheepy @ sheepycloud.tumblr.com
> 
> -
> 
> Check out my moth Indrid designs at https://toyhou.se/4043663.indrid-taz- !

*  
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*

It was late in the afternoon, although in the summer that still meant it was several hours from sunset. It was a lazy Saturday, and nobody much felt like doing anything - except Aubrey, who wanted Dani to help her learn how to make potions. It’s a difficult skill even for a sylph, but it was one she was determined to learn.

In the basement of Amnesty Lodge, Dani sat cross-legged on the floor, watching Aubrey as she carefully placed just a drop of liquid inside the bottle on the potion stand. “Good,” Dani said, sounding pleased. “Now we just need some dandelion essence, diluted a good bit. Only a tiny bit is needed.” 

Aubrey nodded, using a clean dropper to put the smallest amount of dandelion juice into a cup of water. Or at least, she tried to. “Whatcha got there?” Ned’s booming voice sounded out from behind her, and she shrieked. The whole dropper’s worth of dandelion juice had gone into the potion.

“Dammit, Ned! I’m busy,” she complained. “And now I have to start over.” She’d forgotten he was in the library researching something or other. 

He nodded sagely, running his fingers down his beard. “Friend Aubrey, I could take that off your hands for you.” 

She squinted at him. “We don’t even know what it does,” she pointed out, lifting an eyebrow. “You fucked up the potion, Ned.” 

He shrugged. “I’ll give you half of whatever it gets on eBay.” 

“Sold!” Dani crowed, winking at Aubrey. Her face becoming darker with a blush and too flustered to say anything, the magician pushed the cork into the bottle, handing it to Ned. “Now get out, the ingredients are expensive and I don’t want you to ruin another batch.” 

Grinning, Ned gave a mock salute to the pair before walking up the stairs and out of the cellar.

*  
***  
*

Then Ned bumped directly into Barclay. “Uh, sorry,” the gentle man said, before stepping around Ned and opening the basement door. “Tea’s in the kitchen if you want any.” 

He shrugged and walked into the kitchen. May as well have some tea before leaving, right? As he poured some from the kettle into his mug, he pulled out the potion bottle, examining it closely. It was a nearly-transparent magenta color and appeared even thinner than water, splashing around with any tiny movement of his hand. 

“Tell me you didn’t get a potion from Aubrey,” Mama said from behind him, deadpan. 

Jumping with no small amount of guilt, Ned said, “Uh, no! I just wanted some, er, rose water. For my tea.” 

Mama looked at him, narrowing her eyes. “Then put it in your drink.” What a hardass.

Sweating from nervousness, Ned opened the bottle. It did smell like roses, so it seemed like his lie was holding up so far. But he had no idea what this might do to him. If Dani seemed okay with letting a stranger have it, it’s probably not poison, right? Right, he convinced himself, pouring about a fourth of the vial into his tea. 

Duck walked into the room, looking tired as all hell. As usual, Indrid was by his side. “I’d love some tea,” he yawned, taking Ned’s mug out of his hand, presumably just to get under his skin. Ned watched helplessly as he took a large sip. 

“No!” Indrid shouted, covering his own mouth in horror. 

Duck looked at him curiously. “What?” He tried to ignore the thrill he got from looking at his crush. He thought he was past getting butterflies from just seeing him, but apparently not.

Ned rubbed the back of his neck, trying to look innocent. “Duck, we’re friends, right? Yeah. We’re friends. So you’re probably going to eventually forgive me. I hope. There’s a potion with some unknown effect in that tea.” 

With disgust, Duck placed it on the table heavily. “What the fuck, Ned? Y’just let me drink it?” He sighed, looking over at Indrid to see his reaction. But he was just watching the ranger, eyes wide. “Don’t worry, I don’t see any effects yet,” Duck told him, trying to be cheerful. He was worried about what might happen to him, but so far, there was nothing new. Just his usual raging crush on Indrid, immediately brought to mind as he looked at the seer.

“Are… are you sure?” Indrid asked doubtfully. 

Dazed, Duck blinked at him. He felt his heart beat faster as he looked at Indrid. He was _gorgeous_. Even though he looked worried, his messy white hair framed his face just so, and his cheekbones…

Seeing Duck’s sudden lovestruck expression, Mama winced. “Oh, boy.” She seemed to know what was going on here. 

“What?” Ned asked, nervous. 

She sighed, crossing her arms. “Y’gave him a fuckin’ love potion, _Ned_.” 

“I don’t feel any different,” Duck insisted, looking at her with mild panic. He was under the influence of a _love potion_? Oh god, what if he told Indrid about his feelings? He had been waiting for the perfect moment - of course, _that’s_ why he was taking so long to do it, duh. He hoped this wouldn’t ruin his plans.

She raised her eyebrows. “Why don’t you go ahead and take another look at your friend there,” she told him. Her mouth was quirked as if she was trying not to laugh. 

With a bit of trepidation, Duck slowly turned to look back at Indrid. 

And he immediately felt his nervousness leave. All the affection he had for the sylph was suddenly on his mind, and he couldn’t look away from him. “Oh,” he breathed, hearing the joy in his own voice. 

Mama burst out into laughter. “Yeah, that’s what I figured,” she snickered. 

He was fucked.

*  
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*


	2. Chapter 2

*  
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*

Indrid fidgeted with the edge of his frayed hoodie. He felt like everyone was looking at him and Duck. And for the most part, they were, but even when they looked away he still felt like he was in the spotlight - which was something he was never fond of. 

Mama had called a Pine Guard meeting. It wasn’t an emergency meeting per se, because there was no abomination to be fought, but they needed to figure out what to do now that one of their own is in a… situation. 

Finally, Barclay and Ned walked down the stairs to the cellar to convene with Aubrey, Duck, Indrid, Mama, Dani, and Jake. “Okay, Mama,” Barclay said, clasping his hands. “What’s going on?” 

Normally, Indrid would look at Duck when he was nervous and feel comforted by his presence. Right now, though, seeing the lovestruck expression on his face wasn’t helpful at all because _everyone else_ could see it too. And it made his heart speed up, which isn’t great for someone who was already anxious. 

“I fucked up,” Aubrey said unhappily before Mama could open her mouth. “God, I’m so sorry, Duck.”

Looking over at her as if he’d just noticed she was in the room, Duck shrugged. “It’s not that bad, to be honest.” 

“What’s not that bad?” Barclay pressed. 

Rubbing her hand on her forehead, Mama explained, “Aubrey whipped up a li’l love potion by accident, an’ Ned gave him tea spiked with it.” 

“By accident?” Jake asked with glee, looking at Aubrey. She stuck her tongue out at him. 

“Hold on, I didn’t give it to him,” Ned said defensively, holding up his hands as if to placate her. “He took it out of my hand, remember?” 

Duck shrugged. “Shit’s fuckin’ broken,” he declared to the group, crossing his arms. “I’m _fine_.” He looked at Indrid for confirmation out of habit, but after a moment looked dazed. “By the way, you have the most stunning eyes.” Indrid stiffened in his chair, feeling his face grow very warm all of the sudden. Did Duck actually say that? 

Trying to regain composure, Indrid told him, "What you said is incredibly kind, Duck, but seriously, maybe you should stop to consider if you want _every person here_ to hear what you're saying." 

Casually, Duck replied, “Oh, I don't mind if they know about my crush on you.” The others looked at each other wordlessly, both amused and concerned. 

“You might later,” Indrid said diplomatically, trying to ignore the spike of glee he felt when Duck said he had a _crush_ on _Indrid_. Something he’d hoped was true for entirely too long.

Duck shrugged. “Fine,” he said, sinking further into his chair. “But I have more to say later.” He winked at Indrid. “In private.” The seer didn’t think he could actually _get_ this flustered. He was probably redder than his glasses at this point. He couldn’t even speak to respond to what Duck had said.

“PDA police, please save us,” Jake groaned, covering his ears exaggeratedly, making Aubrey and Dani laugh.

Then Dani coughed politely to get the group’s attention, sparing Indrid from more embarrassment. “I believe it should wear off at some point soon, even if we can’t find a clear solution,” she said. She looked almost as sheepish as Aubrey. “Also, Ned isn’t allowed to have potions anymore.” 

“Oh, come on!” Ned whined. “It could be such a good attraction for the Cryptonomica-” 

“Enough,” Mama said, interrupting whatever ridiculous argument Ned was going to give. “Indrid, what do you want to do about the situation? Given you’re probably not going to know peace until it’s dealt with.” 

Pensively, he looked at Duck, trying to figure out _what_ he was actually going to do about this. He hadn’t gotten that far in either thinking ahead or looking at his visions. “Y’should wear your hair up like this more often,” Duck told him, looking serious, as if this was relevant to the conversation and a useful thing to say. “It looks good.”

Struggling not to laugh, Mama said, “That’s nice, hon’, but please focus on what’s important.” 

Duck insisted, “But i’m already focusin’ on the most important thing in the room!” Ned howled with laughter at seeing his normally so _not_ touchy-feely friend be this openly affectionate. It was objectively absurd. 

Feeling his face grow heated, Indrid looked at the floor and chose not to respond to any of that, instead addressing Mama. “I guess I’ll just… see what happens? I mean, unless anyone has any real solutions other than just hope it wears off sometime soon.” 

“The antidote for a love potion is a complicated thing to make,” Dani said, looking thoughtful. “Maybe I could make one, given some time.” 

Aubrey chewed her lip. “I’m not sure if you want my help,” she said, not meeting Dani’s eyes. 

“Nonsense,” Ned said decisively. “You only made a mistake because I surprised you at a critical moment.” She looked at him and nodded, returning Ned’s smile. “You can do this, friend Aubrey.” 

Duck chose that moment to chime in again. “I have a suggestion,” he said. He seemed deep in thought. The others looked at him expectantly. “I can just take Indrid on a date, and-” He was interrupted by Aubrey and Jake bursting into giggles. “C’mon, now,” Duck said, sounding disappointed. “I’ve tried to ask so many times and now I’m not scared to.” 

Indrid swallowed, choosing his words carefully. “Maybe we should talk about this later,” he suggested, trying to save them both some dignity. Even though his voice wavered from how shy and overwhelmed he was feeling. 

“Tell us one way you tried to ask Indrid out, Duck,” Dani said, hiding her shit-eating grin unsuccessfully behind her hand. 

The visions couldn’t be forced back. They invaded Indrid’s mind, distracting him from the conversation for a moment. Duck was thinking of what to say, and apparently there were even more times that Duck chickened out that Indrid even knew about. Each and every one visions right now were variations of Duck saying he planned to _take Indrid on a date_ which is… something he’d been wanting for a long time.

Duck rolled his eyes at whatever the others had said while Indrid was stuck in his thoughts. When he spoke, it brought Indrid’s mind to the present. “Did you know I fuckin’ got flowers for him for Valentines Day, but then didn’t even have the courage to give ‘em to him? I just kept them. For me.” Indrid felt like he wanted to just sink into the ground and hide from everyone, because not only was he feeling criminally intense levels of shyness, but he was having to listen to Duck when every word he said made him feel more flustered. 

But he couldn’t move, not when Duck was just _saying_ all these things in public like they were common knowledge. Well... now they were.

“So that’s where they came from,” Ned said, looking like he’d just solved a mystery.

Barclay turned to leave. “While this is entertaining, I do have work to do,” he said politely before walking up the stairs. “Let me know if I can help at all.” Mama followed him, starting to talk with him in a quiet voice that the others couldn’t hear.

“Thanks, Barclay!” Jake said, giving him a small wave before grinning at Indrid. “You knew, though.” 

Indrid sighed, exasperated. “Knew what?” For some reason, he was letting himself be subjected to this… interrogation? Whatever Aubrey, Dani, and Jake were planning. Cool.

It wasn’t because he wanted to hear more of what Duck to say. Obviously. Right.

“About Duck wanting to ask you out,” Aubrey said helpfully. Apparently, Duck wasn’t embarrassed at all. It was like he was talking about the weather. Well, if he was in love with the weather. 

“Yes, I knew,” the seer answered, raising his eyebrow. “I’m not going to accept an invitation I didn’t receive, though.” 

“Okay, that’s fair,” Dani said. “But what about all _the other_ times?” 

Rubbing his hands over his face, Indrid mumbled. “I don’t have to answer that.” Memories of visions popped into his mind of dates he would have gone on with Duck if he’d only asked. But Indrid was way too nervous to make the first move, so he just waited until Duck finally decided it was time to ask him out. Well, guess the cat’s out of the bag.

Surprisingly, Ned was the one to cut in and say, “You know, fellas, I think we should cut ‘em some slack.” Indrid looked up at him gratefully. 

“Oh. Are you doing alright, Indrid?” Jake asked, looking a little guilty for having teased him so much. 

He sighed. “I’m just a bit… overwhelmed. All of this is happening, _and_ a lot of visions are happening, especially because everything involving Duck changed when he drank the potion, so…” He felt one of Duck’s hands rub his shoulder comfortingly, and he instantly felt a little better. “I think I may want to go home and regroup for a bit, and figure out what we’re going to do next.” 

“I know I already said it, but I’m sorry,” Aubrey sighed. “This is probably a lot to deal with.” 

Indrid tilted his head. “It’s going to be… interesting, for sure.” He wouldn’t choose the phrase ‘deal with’ to refer to this situation, because honestly? The visions of the future made him feel shy and flustered, sure, but they were also quite desirable. Most of them involved attention and affection from Duck, which always made him happy. “I definitely need some time to think and take a look at the future.” 

“What are we going to do with Duck, though?” Ned asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “He seems… out of it. He should probably be supervised.” 

Duck looked a little nervous now, swallowing and sitting up straight. “You’re not- I don’t have to be away from you until this wears off, right? I don’t want to, y’know, make you uncomfortable-” 

Aubrey interrupted him and snickered at this point, knowing that 24/7 affection from his crush is probably what Indrid wants the most. Mercifully, in this timeline, she didn’t say that out loud. “No, it’s okay,” he said soothingly. “You can spend time with me.” The unimaginably happy look Duck gave him in response made him feel like he was melting inside. 

Duck was looking at Indrid, clearly wanting to say something but holding back. His brain helpfully told him that in another timeline, Duck asked if he could just be with Indrid until it wore off. It also told him that they both would like that very much. “I suppose I could stay with him,” Indrid said quietly, feeling himself grow warm at Duck’s happy agreement. “From what I could tell on Sylvain, the person affected by a love potion will be fairly unhappy if separated from the object of their affection.” 

“The apple of their eye, if you will,” Ned interjected, grinning.

*  
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	3. Chapter 3

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*

Thankfully, Duck seemed to be able to focus when driving rather than just staring at Indrid like he had been since he took the potion. “How are you feeling?” Indrid asked him tentatively. 

“Y’all are actin’ like I drank fuckin’ poison or some shit. I’m fine, I promise.” Duck hummed quietly as he pulled into his apartment’s parking lot. “How about you?” When he put the car in park, he turned to look at Indrid. His expression was unimaginably soft. 

Indrid felt his face getting warm. “I’m- I’m doing well, thanks,” he said, opening the passenger side door of the truck and hopping out. “Just wondering what we’ll actually _do_ until this wears off.” 

“I can think of some things,” Duck said with a flirtatious grin. Indrid bit back his reply, his face probably as red as his glasses, and started walking toward Duck’s front door. No point in flirting right now, yeah? Because even if Duck was interested in him normally, it wouldn’t be right to take advantage of this. It wouldn’t be right to flirt back.

Right?

*  
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*

When Duck unlocked the door, the first thing Indrid heard was a plaintive mew from his cat. “Hey darlin’,” he said, leaning down to pick her up before stepping over the threshold. “You been good?” 

Lifting an eyebrow, Indrid looked at the ripped up newspaper on the floor. “Unfortunately not,” he laughed, reaching out to let the cat sniff his hand. “Bad Burrito.”

“Burrito is never bad,” Duck cooed as he kissed the top of her head. She purred and bumped her head up against his chin. 

Indrid reached out his arms toward Duck and the ranger passed him the cat. Burrito climbed on Indrid’s shoulder, precariously sitting on it - there was a lot less surface area than on Duck’s shoulders, and she had to whip her tail around to balance. “So you had an idea of what to do?” 

“Yep,” Duck said, walking toward his bedroom. “Jus’ a second.” He returned holding a tote bag full of what appeared to be miscellaneous crafting supplies. “Don’t tell anyone ‘bout this, but I’ve been thinkin’ about pickin’ up scrapbooking.” 

Indrid gave him a crooked smile, carefully placing Burrito on a nearby chair. “I had a vision of you buying the supplies, but didn’t look into it to see whether you actually went through with it.”

Duck laughed, pulling out a large, square hardcover book. As far as Indrid could tell, all of its pages were empty. “Wait, I need pictures,” he said, placing the scrapbook on the sofa beside him and again striding into his room, retrieving a pastel green polaroid camera. “Juno got me this for Christmas but I ain’t ever used it.” He paused. “Would it be okay if I took a picture of us?”

“Sure, but I can’t promise that I’ll look good,” Indrid answered. He wasn’t wearing anything out of the ordinary, and his hair looked normal, so he wasn’t sure why Duck would want a photo. 

He couldn’t help but smile naturally when Duck sidled up next to him on the couch, holding up the polaroid camera. “I can,” he said, and it took a moment before Indrid realized Duck was saying he _looked good_ , and then the flash of the camera went off. And Indrid’s blush in that moment was immortalized. His future visions showed him that.

“That’s a perfect start,” Duck hummed, setting the photo carefully on the coffee table. 

Curiously, Indrid picked up the scrapbook to see what Duck had already put inside, if anything. “What’s the theme?” he asked, setting it down in his lap. 

Interestingly, Duck grinned sheepishly. “I couldn’t think of a way, y’know, to, uh, tell you how I feel. So I figured I could jus’ make somethin’.” The seer felt like his heart was melting. “I know it’s silly.” 

“Duck, that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever planned to do for me,” Indrid said quietly. He pushed his glasses up to the top of his head so that he could see the contents of the book better. He opened it and laughed when he saw the title page. Duck had already made it before he’d taken the potion, which made the sylph feel fuzzy inside.

“Indrid & Duck” was written in large, neat cursive across the page with black ink. He’d drawn _hearts_ around their names, and they were colored in as if they were pride flags - trans and bi pride for Duck, gay and genderfluid pride for Indrid. 

“I love it. This is amazing.” 

He was startled by another flash from the camera. “Sorry! You just- you were all smiley, an’ I had to.” Duck was grinning at him, a dusting of blush across his cheeks. Suddenly, the seer was unsure if Duck was really the one who drank the love potion, or if actually Indrid did, because he was hit by a wave of affection for the man in front of him. 

“That’s fine,” he answered honestly. “Hey, what supplies do you have for this thing?”

Duck rummaged in the tote bag. “I got some, uh, washi tape I think it’s called, for decoratin’, but also regular tape too, and some markers and pens.” 

Indrid hummed. He had visions of Duck cutting out shapes from some pictures and writing on others. “You’re going to want a sharpie,” he said, looking at Duck. He tried not to get shy about the fact that the man was gazing at him _adoringly_ as he talked. “Oh, and scissors.” 

“Smart thinkin’,” the ranger said, walking to the kitchen and grabbing both a sharpie and some scissors from the ‘miscellaneous’ drawer every kitchen seems to have. “I also wanna write some other stuff in there. But I dunno if I want you to see it yet, since this was s’posed to be a surprise for you an’ all.” 

“It can’t be a surprise,” Indrid pointed out, tilting his head at Duck. “First of all, I have future vision, but also, you literally just told me you were writing in it.” 

Duck laughed. “But the _words_ will be a surprise. Jus’ ignore the visions that spoil ‘em.” 

“Sure, Duck,” Indrid said, smiling at him and pulling up his knees to his chest. For a moment, he looked at the futures to see what they could be doing to fix the potion situation. He didn’t find any immediate solutions. Then he was startled out of his thoughts by a large blanket being dropped beside him onto the sofa. “Oh, thanks.” 

“Didn’t want ya to be chilly,” Duck said fondly. Indrid felt his heart speed up, meeting the ranger’s eyes.

Bashfully dropping the eye contact, Indrid changed the subject. “Do you have a spare notebook? I wouldn’t mind doing some drawing.” 

Before he’d finished his sentence, Duck was standing again. He went into his room momentarily and returned with two legal pads and a couple of ballpoint pens. “Sorry, it ain’t much, but it’s what I got,” he explained. He pulled the pack of markers out from the scrapbooking supplies. “Y’can use these too, if y’want. I don’t see you usin’ color often.” 

With a hum, Indrid quickly flitted from vision to vision, looking for one that he should draw. Something important enough that he needed to remember it, or if nothing important was on the horizon, just something that might be fun to draw would be fine. He giggled, seeing that Burrito would soon steal a sock from Duck’s room and hide under the couch with it, to the human’s frustration.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Duck writing on one of the legal pads, seeming deep in thought. 

Taking the other pad that was between them, Indrid started doodling the vision he’d had of Burrito. He couldn’t stop the goofy smile from spreading across his face. That damned cat. She was sleeping on a nearby armchair, pretending to be innocent, but Indrid knew the bastard had plans to cause more mischief.

After a few minutes of drawing, his future vision warned him a couple of seconds ahead of time that Duck was about to take a photo of him, so he wasn’t surprised by the sudden flash of light. “Alright, I’m done for now,” the ranger promised, setting the new polaroid picture beside the others and putting the camera in the scrapbooking bag. 

“For now,” Indrid quipped, finishing the drawing. “What are you writing?” 

“Drafts for what I’m puttin’ in the scrapbook,” Duck explained. “I jus’ finished my last journal and haven’t gotten a new one yet.”

Indrid thought for a moment. “I have a spare journal at my camper. And it’s getting late, anyway.” 

“Oh,” Duck said, sounding a little disappointed. “Yeah, you’d better get home, I guess.”

*  
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	4. Chapter 4

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*

The drive to Indrid’s house went by quickly. He’d gotten zoned out into his visions again. He focused in on the present when Duck told him, “We’re here.” 

Sitting up, Indrid opened the passenger side door of Duck’s truck. “I’m going to grab you that journal, sit tight,” he said, hopping out and walking into his winnebago. Instead of staying in the truck, Duck followed him, entering the overheated camper soon after the sylph did. “Ah, here it is.” 

Wordlessly, Duck accepted the journal. He looked conflicted. Understanding, Indrid reached out his arms for a hug, and was immediately swept up into Duck’s arms. He sighed happily in the embrace. The ranger buried his face in Indrid’s neck, and in response he leaned his cheek on top of his head. “‘M gonna miss you,” he mumbled.

“You’ll see me in the morning,” Indrid said quietly in response.

Duck only gave a sad hum in response. Indrid held him a little tighter for a moment, then stepped back, giving the man a small smile. “Goodnight, Duck.” 

“‘Night, Indrid,” he replied, leaving the winnebago.

*  
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*

Duck rolled over in bed, _again_ , the sleepless night seeming to drag on forever. The problem was that he couldn’t stop pining after Indrid long enough to fall asleep. He missed his smile, and the way his hair fell over his glasses sometimes, and the way he covered his mouth when he laughed. He missed the sound of his voice and the little humming noises he made when he was thinking. Duck missed Indrid.

*  
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*

This was ridiculous. It was two in the morning, hours after he’d been dropped off at his winnebago, and Indrid was still awake. He rolled from his back onto his side, pulling his blankets closer around him on the tiny bed. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about Duck.

What if the potion was permanent? What if they couldn’t _find_ a solution? Maybe Duck did like him romantically before he took the potion, but now it was amplified, and he seemed like his shyness had mostly disappeared. He just wasn’t himself, exactly. The attention he gave Indrid was nice - it made him want to disappear from shyness, but he still liked it - but it wasn’t how Duck would normally act. The man was reserved about his feelings. It was sweet, the way small touches and compliments made him blush and give Indrid that goofy smile. 

In the back of his mind, his visions whispered that Duck was still awake, too. And he looked a little upset.

The seer was sick of running circles with the same thoughts over and over in his mind, no clear conclusion to be made. Duck liked him now with the potion whether it was as strong before or not. And he was miserable without Indrid. 

With a tired groan, Indrid pulled himself out of bed, sitting at his desk and picking up the phone. He dialed Duck’s number by muscle memory. It only rang twice before the ranger answered. He must have rushed to the phone. “Hello?” he answered, sounding breathless. 

“Hey, Duck,” Indrid greeted him, sleepily leaning back in his desk chair. “Sorry for calling so late.” 

“Don’t apologize!” Duck said quickly. “You can call me whenever, I don’t mind. I like it.” 

Blushing, Indrid mumbled, “Well, yes, okay.” After a moment of silence, he spoke again. “I can’t sleep, either.” 

“Y’want me to pick you up?” Duck sounded hopeful, and it made Indrid’s heart flutter at how much the ranger wanted to see him. 

“Yes, please,” the sylph replied, rubbing his eye underneath his glasses. “I hope you don’t mind if I sleep over.” 

He heard some fumbling in the background of the phone call. Duck must be getting ready to leave. “Of course I don’t mind,” he said, as if the idea was ridiculous. “I love spendin’ time with you.” 

Maybe it was the fact that it was the early hours of the morning lowering his inhibitions, or maybe he was just stupid. “I love spending time with you too, Duck,” Indrid said with a grin. His heart was pounding. “I’ll see you soon.” And he hung up.

*  
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*

Indrid stepped out of his camper just a few seconds before Duck’s car was parked beside it. He had a small backpack slung over his shoulder with what he’d need for tomorrow. He hadn’t even bothered to change out of his pajamas.

Yawning, he climbed into the passenger side seat. “Hello again.” He saw that Duck was still in his pajamas, too, and it warmed his heart. It was endearing.

“Y’doin’ okay?” Duck asked, concerned. His warm hand rubbing Indrid’s shoulder was comforting. 

Indrid nodded, running his hair through his fingers absently. “Just tired. I’m not too sure why, but I was too restless to sleep until now.” 

Duck smiled at him. “I couldn’t sleep without you being nearby,” he said, honesty dripping from his words. Indrid met his eyes, the darkness of the night combined with his sunglasses making it so he could barely make out the features of Duck’s face. “‘M glad you called me.” 

Instead of replying to that, Indrid lightly patted Duck’s hand where it rested on the sylph’s shoulder. “Let’s get going, then.” 

The drive to Duck’s apartment was silent, but it was a sleepy and comfortable silence, the pair just appreciating one another’s presence.

*  
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*

Duck unlocked the door, letting Indrid step inside first. He didn’t bother to flick on the light, as little nightlights in the outlets made it so his dark-adjusted eyes could see well enough to make his way around. But there was something he’d forgotten to ask. “Where am I going to sleep?”

“I was hopin’ you’d sleep in my bed,” the human told him, yawning. “But y’can sleep on the couch if you wanna.” 

Indrid took a deep breath. Sleeping in Duck’s bed sounded very appealing, but he didn’t want to take advantage of the love potion situation. “Is this something you would have asked me if there was no love potion?”

Duck shrugged, already walking toward his bedroom. “I’ve thought ‘bout it before, but I figured I’d prob’ly need to ask you out first. And I was still workin’ on that.” 

“Right,” the seer said quietly, stepping through the bedroom’s doorway. He supposed it would be fine to sleep in the same bed, then. Duck was already crawling into bed on one side. Indrid’s chest grew warm when he noticed that the human had already piled extra blankets on the other side of the bed before he even left his apartment. How sweet...

Climbing onto the large bed, Indrid sighed comfortably. He situated himself close to Duck, not quite touching but close enough to feel his warmth. 

“Is it okay if we cuddle?” Duck whispered, looking at him. 

The amount of hope in his eyes made Indrid willing to agree to anything. “Sure,” Indrid said, turning onto his side and snuggling up to Duck, leaning his head on the human’s shoulder. “You’re warm.” He tried to ignore how the contact made his heart speed up instead of making him feel more sleepy. 

The ranger moved his arm a little, and Indrid lifted his head so he could wrap his arm around the sylph’s shoulders, before he laid his head back down, sighing comfortably. He’d never been this close to Duck before. It was incredibly nice. “You’re so fuckin’ sweet,” Duck said softly, petting Indrid’s hair. “I don’t even mind that I got tricked into takin’ the potion. Gives me an extra excuse to spend time with ya.” 

Indrid wasn’t sure how he should respond. Would it have less meaning if he reciprocated right now as opposed to once the potion wore off? Would it be cruel to hold back his feelings? With a deep breath, Indrid just pressed a quick kiss to the shoulder he was leaning on. He felt a happy thrill go through him. He’d finally _kissed_ his crush - not on the lips, but still. The show of affection had meaning to Indrid.

But it was late, and he couldn’t stay awake to savor the feeling forever. He eventually fell asleep.

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	5. Chapter 5

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*

“What does it feel like?” Indrid asked, stirring nutmeg and extra sugar into his oatmeal so it would resemble something of an eggnog flavor. It was eight in the morning. Later than Duck usually woke up for work, but fairly early for a Sunday morning, Indrid figured. 

“What do you mean?” Duck asked, sipping his coffee. When he’d offered Indrid some earlier, the sylph had shuddered to think of the taste. 

“The potion. What’s it like?” 

Indrid was unprepared for the silly grin Duck gave him. “‘S like normal, ‘cept I’m not scared to say what I’m thinkin’.” Oh. Indrid’s cheeks burned with a blush. _Like normal_. “Y’know, you’re on my mind a li’l more _often_ , but it’s not like my feelings changed. They’re jus’ real… prominent, I guess.” 

“Huh,” Indrid responded, using his breakfast as an excuse to not give a real reply. 

Then Duck seemed a little worried. “Is this makin’ me act too different? I'm not- I'm not crossin’ any lines, am I?”

He shook his head. “If you were, I would tell you,” the seer said, voice gentle. “Yes, you are acting different, but... I'm okay with this. Well, as okay as I can be considering the situation.” 

“‘Kay,” Duck breathed, seeming relieved. There was silence for a few moments before he spoke again. “Actually, there is another difference. I jus’... really want you to be happy. Like, normally I like seein’ you happy, y’know, laughing and such, but right now it’s like y’could prob’ly ask me to do anythin’ for you and I’d do it. Well, that was also true before the potion, but it’s more on the forefront of my mind than usual.” 

Indrid felt like he’d melted inside. “Okay,” he squeaked, not meeting Duck’s eyes. He couldn’t handle how nice the ranger was being to him. When he finally looked up, he saw how soft his expression was.

“I don’t mean to make ya uncomfortable, ‘Drid,” Duck told him. Indrid believed him. “I jus’ don’t have as much of a filter right now.”

“Words just fuckin’ come out,” Indrid said at the same time that Duck did, and the profanity sounded a little odd in his generally-polite voice. “I know.” He rested his elbow on the table, chin on his hand. “It’s not bad, I promise. I’m just… I’m not used to this kind of… affection.” God, that sounded sad. “What I mean to say is, I appreciate how kind you’re being, and I don’t actually want you to stop. Just… be patient with me.” 

The warmth in Duck’s eyes said everything Indrid needed to know. “Okay,” the ranger said. “I mean, I got nothin’ but time right now.” 

Indrid shrugged. “To be fair, I’m in the same boat.” 

After a couple more minutes, he was through eating, and stood up to wash his bowl. “Let me,” Duck said, taking it from him. He picked up his own empty bowl too.

“Duck, I’m hardly going to stay over and be a bad guest,” Indrid admonished quietly, following him to the sink. 

The human sighed quietly, rubbing a sudsy sponge over the dishes. “T’be honest, I’ve had a hard time keepin’ myself from bein’ too affectionate, so… just let me do this for you. It helps.”

Concerned, Indrid furrowed his eyebrows. “Helps what?” 

Duck looked embarrassed, busying himself with rinsing the washed dishes. “It’s not- there’s nothing wrong, necessarily? Just, you know,” he mumbled. “The potion.” 

“You said you felt relatively normal,” Indrid reminded him, confused. 

He shrugged. “It’s just a li’l difficult to hold back this much, is all,” he explained. “Like, before when I was tryin’ to hide my feelings, it was kinda hard and didn’t feel great. But this is jus’ about ten times worse.” 

“Oh,” was all the sylph could say. “Is there- is there something I can do?” 

“I just don’t wanna push you too far,” Duck said, finally drying the dishes and placing them on the drying rack. “I know this ain’t exactly an ideal fuckin’ situation, an’ you shouldn’t have to deal with this.” He looked dejected and wouldn’t meet Indrid’s eyes.

Feeling like his heart was heavy, Indrid stepped forward and hugged Duck, pulling him close. “I’m not- it’s not a situation I have to _deal with_ ,” he said, rubbing the back of the ranger’s head with his hand. “This isn’t a bad thing, Duck. It’s just a thing that’s happening.

The breath was taken out of him by Duck’s strong returning hug. “Thanks,” he mumbled against Indrid’s neck.

The sylph felt his face heat up. “And, well, it’s not exactly unpleasant on my end.” 

Duck pulled back so he could look at Indrid’s face. He was beaming. “You… like this?” 

Bashfully, Indrid nodded. “I- well, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. I’ve had a- a big-time crush on you for quite a while now, Duck. Suddenly being given so much affection is overwhelming, but definitely in a good way.” 

“Aww,” Duck laughed happily, pulling him back into the hug. It wasn’t as tight this time, but it was just as close. 

“I know I don’t need to be embarrassed, because, well, it’s _you_ , and I trust you. But it’s still hard to say out loud.” Indrid leaned his cheek on top of Duck’s head, glad that the ranger couldn’t see how hard he was blushing, and hoping he couldn’t hear his racing heart.

“That’s such a fuckin’ relief to hear, damn,” Duck sighed, sounding peaceful. “You’ve been nothin’ but sweet to me this whole time. I ‘preciate it.”

Regretfully, Indrid stepped back from the hug. His shyness was continuing to build and he didn’t want to get too overwhelmed. “Would you mind if I drew out some visions for a while?” he asked, changing the subject. “I brought my art supplies. I knew you wouldn’t mind too much.” 

“‘Course not,” Duck said, stretching his arms above his head. “As long as y’don’t mind if I work on the poems.” 

“How long has it been since you last wrote poems?” Indrid asked curiously, walking toward the bedroom to retrieve his sketchpad. 

Duck followed, picking up the journal Indrid had given him the night before off his desk. “A few months,” he admitted. “Finished my last notebook an’ just kinda forgot to get a new one. Got distracted with the model ships.” 

“At least taking a break prevents burnout,” the sylph noted.

“I’m actually kinda excited to get to it.” Duck grinned. “I got some good ideas when I was tryin’ to sleep last night before you came over.”

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Indrid sat down on Duck’s couch, and Burrito hopped up beside him, purring and leaning against him. “Does this mean I get to stop holdin’ back?” Duck asked, curious, as he settled on the opposite end of the couch, his notebook laying on the armrest. 

“Depends how much you’ve been holding back,” Indrid replied vaguely, flipping through his sketchbook until he found the next blank page. “Just… don’t unleash everything at once. I’m still getting used to this, too.” 

“‘Course,” Duck said fondly. He didn’t elaborate, simply choosing to start writing. 

After a few sketches, Indrid realized one was important and ripped it out. Then he paused. It had been simply a habit to rip out the important sketches so he could tape them up on his walls, but he wasn’t at home. He was at Duck’s apartment. Sheepishly, he placed the page on the coffee table before starting his next sketch. 

But he couldn’t focus. He realized he had goosebumps from being chilly. Sure, Duck had a space heater running in the living room for his comfort, but it wasn’t his overheated little camper. “Do you need a sweatshirt?” the ranger asked, seeing that he was rubbing his arms. At Indrid’s little nod, he stood up and walked to his room, soon returning with a hoodie. “Y’can have this one.” 

“Oh, I’ll give it back before I leave,” Indrid said, ever so polite. 

“But I want you to have it,” Duck said sweetly, and Indrid couldn’t refuse him. He just nodded. When he was sure the ranger wasn’t looking, he sniffed the neckline of it and smiled. It smelled like him.

Absently, Indrid petted Burrito. No more visions needed drawing; if he continued, it would just be for fun. He’d already done enough drawing, though, and set his sketchpad on top of the drawing he ripped out earlier. “How’s the writing?” 

“I’m a little rusty,” Duck sighed. “I’m getting there, though.” He looked up, seeming in thought. “Still cold?” 

“Sorry,” Indrid mumbled, fiddling with a stray string on the hoodie. “I’m just used to the winnebago and all of its space heaters.” 

“Then let’s go,” Duck said, standing up and holding out his hand for the sylph. Smiling, Indrid let the ranger help him up. “Jus’ lemme put out some more food for Burrito an’ get some sleepover supplies.” 

Indrid felt a happy thrill go through him. “You’ll be staying with me?” His voice sounded a little too hopeful, but he didn’t care. Duck was on a love potion - he wouldn’t think badly of Indrid for being too eager to spend time with him. 

“If you’ll have me,” he replied, his smile faltering. 

“Of course,” the seer said. “We’ll have fun.” It did sound incredibly appealing to snuggle up next to Duck in Indrid’s tiny bed in the camper. 

And so, after having lunch, they left for the campgrounds.

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	6. Chapter 6

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When Indrid stepped back into his winnebago, he sighed in relief, feeling the familiar warmth wash over him. “Y’left ‘em all on when you were gone?” Duck asked, seeming mildly concerned. 

Indrid shrugged. “I wanted it to be warm when I get back,” he said simply. 

“Don’t need it,” Duck said playfully. “You’re hot already.” 

Indrid rolled his eyes, but knew he was blushing. He dodged the subject by asking, “Do you want to watch a movie or something?” 

Duck hummed, sitting on the couch. “Sure, whatever you’d like.” 

“Your opinion matters, too,” Indrid said, tilting his head and waiting for him to answer.

With a crooked grin, Duck told him, “What makes you happy makes me happy.” He felt his heart flutter a little. “‘Sides, I can pick the next one if y’really want me to.” 

“It would be nice to watch something that would just play in the background, so we could talk over it if we want,” Indrid murmured, flipping through the drawer of DVDs. “Does a nature documentary sound good?” 

“Sounds perfect,” Duck answered, yawning. “‘S warm enough for me to fall asleep by accident, though. Jus’ wake me up if I do.” 

“Duly noted,” Indrid laughed, placing a disc in the DVD player and turning on the TV. “I can unplug one of the space heaters, if you’d like.” 

Duck looked conflicted, and Indrid’s future vision told him why. “I really don’t mind it,” he said firmly, unplugging the space heater closest to Duck. “Besides, I’m sure you can keep me warm.” 

The ranger beamed at him. Indrid used the remote to turn the volume of the documentary to a comfortable background volume, and sat beside Duck on the couch. “How are you feeling?” 

Duck chuckled, looking at Indrid with a soft expression. “I’m real happy to be here with ya,” he said, wrapping his arm around Indrid’s shoulders and pulling him a bit closer. Happily, Indrid cuddled up to his side. “There is one li’l thing that would make it better, though.” 

“And what’s that?” Indrid said, his head resting on Duck’s shoulder. 

“If y’could push up your glasses,” the human said quietly. “So I can see your eyes.” 

For some reason, that made Indrid’s heart beat faster. “You want- you want to look at my eyes?” At Duck’s nod, he carefully pushed his glasses up to the top of his head, making sure they were secure. When he met Duck’s eyes, it was like the ranger was seeing the sun for the first time. He looked awed and so, so happy. 

Looking into Duck’s eyes like this, with no reflective barrier, felt intimate and maybe a little too intense. Blushing, Indrid tore his eyes away. He looked toward the TV and saw some lemurs jumping about on the screen. 

“They’re so fuckin’ pretty,” Duck breathed. Shyly, Indrid met his eyes again. He was so happy, but filled with nervous energy, too. “Why d’you keep them covered up all the time?” 

“Light sensitivity, for one,” Indrid said, letting himself take a closer look at Duck’s eyes, too. They were a deep brown with gold and green flecks. He kind of wanted to look at them forever. “Red eyes aren’t very helpful for eye protection.” 

“Sure,” Duck agreed. He leaned his forehead against Indrid’s, and he reflexively closed his eyes at the contact. “It don’t hurt to have ‘em unprotected inside, does it?” 

The sylph hummed. “Not really, if I’m inside,” he said. “I just like how my glasses look on me. They’re stylish.” 

Duck chuckled, pulling away from Indrid to look fondly at him again. “That they are,” he agreed, lightly tapping them. “D’you ever wish you didn’t have to wear ‘em at all?” 

“Every day,” Indrid answered immediately, the yearning evident in his voice. “I haven’t been free to be in my sylph form for more than a couple of minutes at a time for _decades_.” 

“You could take them off now,” Duck suggested, looking at him thoughtfully. “We can close all the blinds this time.” He was referring to when Keith had seen him a few months ago. 

Indrid laughed hollowly. “You’re scared of that form, for one thing. And for good reason.” 

“But I know you now,” Duck insisted. He took one of Indrid’s hands in his own, interlacing their fingers, and Indrid couldn’t help but smile. “An’ I want you to be happy, so if bein’ a big moth makes you happy, let’s do it.” 

The sylph pulled his hand from Duck’s and fidgeted. “Are you sure?” he asked, feeling nervous. Yes, he trusted Duck, but at the same time… He’d never had a positive reaction to his sylph form. Even in Sylvain, he was one of the least attractive species, and he used to wear his human disguise a lot of the time there, too. And... Indrid just wasn’t sure if he could handle his crush rejecting his original form again.

“Absolutely,” Duck promised, reaching up and gently cupping Indrid’s cheek in his hand. He leaned into the contact with a happy sigh. “You’re beautiful in any form.” 

“What?” Indrid asked, eyes wide. The ranger was looking at him with a loving expression, clearly sincere. “You- what?” 

“Has nobody told you that?” Duck asked, furrowing his eyebrows together as if the idea was ridiculous. “You’re fuckin’ lovely, Indrid.” He felt his face heat up with a heavy blush, and he looked down at his hands to avoid eye contact. “Aw, shit, I’m sorry,” Duck apologized, rubbing his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to upset ya.” 

“I’m not upset,” Indrid quickly said. He bit his lip. “I just… I find it hard to believe anyone likes _either_ of my forms, sylph or human.”

Duck pulled him closer into a hug, and he leaned into it, feeling comfort and happiness in the contact. “You’re gorgeous,” he mumbled into Indrid’s ear, and pressed a kiss to the side of the seer’s head. He sighed happily, feeling a thrill go through him. “The first time I saw you, I knew I was fucked. You’re too cute for your own good, y’know.” Indrid giggled, hiding his face in the ranger’s neck. 

“You’re so handsome, an’ I like how small y’feel compared to me, even if you are taller by a couple’a inches.” Duck gently ran his hand over Indrid’s back, and he slowly felt his tension disappear bit by bit - but it returned quickly from being shy and nervous with this closeness and the compliments. “I like your smile. I like makin’ you smile jus’ so I can see it.”

Giggling, Indrid pushed lightly at Duck’s shoulder. “Stoppit,” he whined. “I’m too shy for this.” 

“Do you actually want me to stop? Because I have plenty more to say,” Duck told him, grinning. 

Pulling away from the hug, Indrid brought his knees to his chest, wriggling into the corner of the couch like a nest. “That’s enough for now, I’d think.” He couldn’t stop smiling, and he rubbed his hand over his cheek. “Did… did you mean all that?”

“All that and more,” Duck told him. He didn’t move closer, but he took Indrid’s hand in his own. “You know I can’t fuckin’ lie to save my life.” 

“I know,” Indrid laughed, looking down at their hands and interlacing their fingers. They fit together perfectly. “It’s just… really sweet. Thank you, Duck.” 

“Anytime,” the ranger replied. He looked incredibly fond of Indrid at that moment, looking at the seer like he was the most precious thing in the world. It made his chest warm. “An’ I can tell you I’ve had all these thoughts before the potion, too.” 

At Indrid’s wide-eyed expression, Duck laughed quietly. “I told you already, I think the potion doesn’t change my feelings, jus’ my willingness to express ‘em.” 

Indrid hid his face in the hoodie. He had been overwhelmed with shyness for far too long at once. “Aw, ‘Drid,” Duck laughed, squeezing his hand. “Y’don’t need to hide.” 

“You killed me,” Indrid said in exasperation. “You made me too embarrassed, and now I’m broken.” 

He felt Duck let go of his hand. “I’ll back off now,” he said, sounding smug. “But you’d best believe I’m not anywhere fuckin’ close to done givin’ you compliments.” 

Lifting his head to look at the ranger, Indrid sighed dramatically, making Duck laugh again. “You’re a menace.” 

“You like it,” Duck teased.

Indrid gave him a soft smile. “Yeah, I do,” he said quietly, and was pleased to see that _Duck_ was the one blushing now. He reached for the remote and turned up the volume on the nature documentary to get some silent time. He’d been flustered for long enough today and wanted some calm now.

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	7. Chapter 7

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The documentary was close to ending when Duck snuggled up to Indrid’s side, leaning his head on the sylph’s shoulder. He wrapped his arm around the ranger’s waist, enjoying the closeness and comfortable silence.

“D’you care if I look at your drawin’s?” Duck asked as the credits started rolling. 

“Go ahead,” Indrid said. He still had his glasses pushed up to his forehead. Duck had called his eyes _pretty_ , and it made him feel a small thrill just to remember that. 

Duck reached out and touched one of the drawings with a wide smile. “Y’draw me a lot,” he commented. “I never really noticed until now.” 

Indrid ran his fingers through his hair absently. “I, well, you’re important,” he said lamely. He left off the last two words of that sentence: ‘you’re important _to me_.’ “You affect a lot of important timelines.” 

“Sounds like y’just like drawin’ me,” Duck said, giving him a flirtatious grin. 

“I thought we were done with ‘make Indrid shy’ time,” the sylph muttered half-heartedly. He really didn’t mind the teasing, deep down - he just couldn’t handle it very well at the moment without internally combusting.

After a few moments of silence, Duck asked, “So you put up the important visions?” He sounded genuinely interested. 

They’d had similar conversations before, but Indrid didn’t mind the repetition. “The ones that branch off into futures I need to keep an eye on,” he said, yawning. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to unplug another space heater.” And he stood up to do so. 

“Hell yeah,” Duck said, still studying the sketches. “How do you know when to take them down?” 

Indrid shrugged. “It’s kind of a disorganized process,” he admitted. Disorganized was a mild word to describe his winnebago as a whole. “Every once in a while I look at a small section of the wall and remove any sketches of irrelevant visions.” 

“Where do you put them all after that?” the ranger asked.

Rubbing his eyes sleepily, Indrid said, “I keep the ones I particularly like and recycle the rest.” 

Duck hummed, sitting beside him on the couch again. “Before you throw away more, would you mind if I took one or two of the rejects?” he asked, looking endearingly hopeful. 

“I’m- why?” Indrid asked, amused. 

Duck rolled his eyes. “Because your art is really fuckin’ nice, and maybe I’d like to have some.” 

The seer’s heart felt warm. “I’ll keep you posted,” he said. He noticed Duck pull his hair out of his ponytail and cascade down his back. “Forgive me if this is strange, but would you mind if I braided your hair?” 

The smile Duck gave him made him melt inside. “‘Course not,” the ranger said, turning around so his back was to the sylph. “I like havin’ my hair played with, actually.” 

Carefully combing his fingers through the hair to make sure it wasn’t tangled, Indrid hummed. “Me, too.” When he was satisfied with its tidiness, he divided the hair into two large sections to begin a fishtail braid. “It’s been so long since I’ve been able to braid someone’s hair,” he said, a little wistful. “You know, moth people do their hair for formal events, just like humans. We braid sections of our manes and weave in beads and flowers.” 

“That’s cool as fuck,” Duck marveled, staying still so Indrid could braid more easily. “Did you ever get dressed up like that?” 

“All the time,” the sylph replied. He was taking his time, being methodical and neat with the complicated braid. Also, he liked touching Duck, and his hair was soft. So he was moving more slowly than strictly necessary. “I was the court seer, after all.” 

“Right.” Duck sat silently for a few moments before saying, “I wanna hear more about that.” 

Pausing, Indrid asked, “About being in the court?” Duck nodded eagerly. “Oops, I almost lost my place there,” he laughed softly, fixing the braid where the nodding had messed it up. Getting back to the subject, he admitted, “I have to be honest. It was dreadfully boring.” 

“Dammit, I thought it would be all, I don’t know, cool and shit. ‘Cause it’s an alien government.” 

“Not alien to me,” Indrid responded, grinning. “It was relatively monotonous and tedious. I was to scan my visions for any events that would affect the population at large or the court, so disasters could be prevented and such. Of course, that kind of thing doesn’t happen often, so it was mostly me just telling the others that yes, everything is still alright, no need to panic.” 

“What ‘bout when you first started? It was boring then too?”

Indrid hummed, focusing on the soft hair in his hands and trying not to cause any tangles. “No, it was…. well, it was more overwhelming than fun. I started having visions as a child, you know. They weren’t very detailed at first, and I didn’t learn how to determine the likelihood of events until much later. Regardless, I was taken in by the court seer at the time for apprenticeship.” 

Duck was quiet. “Is that what you wanted?” he finally asked. 

Indrid shrugged. “I didn’t really have a plan for my life before then, so it sounded about as good as any other option. And I felt special. Seers are rare and treasured.” He sighed. “I knew they were using me for my talents rather than caring about me as a person, but the position came with high status, so I accepted the apprenticeship and moved to the capital city.” 

“Sounds a li’l frightenin’ to up and move so young,” Duck commented.

The sylph agreed. “Too young to be alone in a strange place, yes. But I lived in the court housing, so I didn’t have to worry about my safety. And I trained twenty-four seven, around the clock.” 

“What, really?” 

“‘To be a seer is to see it all,’” he parroted, imitating the nasally voice of the court seer he’d apprenticed under. It made Duck laugh, and hearing that made Indrid’s chest feel warm. “We would spend most of the day together working on sharpening my skills, except for when he was needed for court duties. And when each lesson started, I would have to tell him all about the visions I’d had since we last spoke. I was training to keep Sylvain and especially its capital city safe, you see, so I had to be able to foresee potential problems efficiently and at any time.” 

Duck whistled. The fact that he was impressed made Indrid’s heart flutter. “Sounds like a lot of pressure.” 

“Oh, yes,” Indrid nodded. He worked on untangling a small knot that had formed while he was braiding. “After only a decade of apprenticeship, my mentor passed away, so I became the court seer at a record young age.” The human hummed sympathetically. “And I remained in that position for almost a century and a half.” 

“Oh, jesus. How long do moth people live?” Duck asked, sounding intrigued. 

“Roughly three hundred years,” Indrid said, his voice becoming soft. “I’m around two hundred and sixty.” The unspoken fact was that his lifespan was probably going to end around the same time Duck’s would. “But we don’t age like humans do. It isn’t a gradual decline into being weak and senile. I’ll still be fairly active and spry until the day comes.” 

The ranger coughed. “Uh, I know this is real shitty of me to say, but I was a li’l worried that I’d jus’ be a drop in the bucket. Like my lifespan might be so short compared to yours that y’may as well not bother bein’ with me at all.” 

Indrid pressed a kiss to Duck’s shoulder blade and smiled at the happy noise he made. “Duck, you’re by far the most important person to me,” he said. “Now give me the hair tie.” 

He finished tying off the braid and Duck turned around with just the biggest smile. “Aww, ‘Drid,” he cooed. Indrid felt his face heating up quickly and he hid his face behind his hands. By habit he tried to avoid the glasses, but they were currently pushed up to his forehead, so he needn’t have worried. “No, it’s okay,” the ranger soothed, gently grabbing his wrists. “You don’t need to hide.” He didn’t force his hands away, though, and after a deep breath Indrid lowered them willingly to look at Duck, bashful. “You’re really important to me, too.”

“Okay,” the seer mumbled, embarrassed. He avoided Duck’s eyes, instead focusing on the mid-afternoon light coming from the window beside him that lit up his drawings on the opposite wall of the camper.

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	8. Chapter 8

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Duck looked at him contemplatively for a moment. “Hey, y’never took off your disguise,” he pointed out quietly. “Are you- are y’alright?” 

Indrid nodded. “Yeah, I’m just fine.” He finally looked at Duck and felt his chest get warm, seeing the ranger’s soft expression. “I’d just gotten distracted is all.” 

“Like I said, y’don’t have to stay human jus’ for my comfort,” Duck told him. 

He sounded so sincere, and Indrid did miss being in his sylph form… He looked around and was satisfied that all the blinds were sufficiently closed. Nobody else was planning on visiting this campgrounds anytime soon, anyway, according to a quick glance through his visions. “Hmm. Are you sure?”

At Duck’s nod, Indrid took a slow, deep breath and pulled off his glasses. He set them carefully on the nearby kitchen table; he didn’t even have to get off the couch to reach it because of his suddenly much larger size. Self-consciously, he held his wings tight to his body. “I haven’t, um, I haven’t just casually been in this form with another person in a long time,” he admitted, looking at Duck shyly. He saw the admiring look on the ranger’s face and let out a happy trill. Embarrassed, he rubbed his cheek with one of his four hands. “Sorry. I can’t control the noises.” 

“That’s okay,” Duck said, scooting a little closer. “I’m- may I?” he motioned that he wanted to hold Indrid’s hand, and the moth person placed his hand on Duck’s palm. He watched as the human looked at it curiously, tracing the little lines and creases on his palm with a fingertip. “This is really cool.” 

Indrid twitched an antenna in confusion. “Why?” 

“First of all, you’re a fuckin’ alien, so jot that one down,” Duck said in a teasing manner, grinning. “An’ you’re my best friend. So I get best friend privileges.” 

Heart racing, Indrid made an embarrassed chittering noise and then stuttered, “Oh? Wh- what are those?” 

Duck gave him a mischievous look before kissing his palm. Indrid felt his heart melt. “I get to look at ya more closely than you’d probably let the other members of the Pine Guard,” he pointed out. “Like, I can hold your hand like this. They can’t.” 

“It’s true,” Indrid admitted, smiling. “You’re… special, Duck.” 

“I am the Chosen One,” he drawled, turning Indrid’s hand over as they both laughed. He slowly stroked over the back of his hand and his wrist. “I love the li’l fuzz here. Like, I get that you’re furry everywhere, but it gets so short by the time it reaches your hands. It’s like velvet.” 

Indrid felt his face warm up with a blush. “Um, thank you,” he murmured. Even though he was a bit tense from the shyness, he felt his wings relaxing because he wasn’t afraid of Duck’s reaction to this form anymore. He gently rested them on the couch.

“You’re so fuckin’ pretty,” Duck said quietly. Indrid felt his breath catch in his throat as the human leaned closer, stroking over the mane on his chest and neck. It felt so _nice_ to have the intimate contact, and he suddenly found himself on the verge of purring. He silenced it, too shy to purr in front of his crush yet. It was a very personal thing, after all.

“That’s a new one,” Indrid replied, breathless but amused. “Usually people run away screaming.” 

He chirped happily when Duck gathered all four of his hands in the ranger’s. “T’be real with ya, the only reason I didn’t react so well last time was because it was all so fuckin’ _sudden_. Like, I had no time to mentally prepare to see ya. But now I’m used to the concept, an’ I actually really like this form.” 

“I’m- um, really?” the moth person squeaked. His smallest wings fluttered happily. 

Duck nodded, looking at him fondly. “Well, I really like you in general, so…” 

Indrid couldn’t help it. He started purring. 

Jaw dropping, Duck stared at him. “You _purr_?” Suddenly self-conscious, the purrs sputtered out into silence, before he began making quiet chitters of embarrassment. Indrid was just looking at their joined hands, studiously avoiding eye contact. From the embarrassment, his antennae were pinned flat to the top of his head instead of neutrally pointing upward. “No, don’t stop, I didn’t mean t’make you shy.” 

“It’s… to purr in front of someone has significant meaning,” Indrid explained quietly, slowly meeting Duck’s gaze. He admired the way that the green and yellow flecks stood out against the deep brown of his irises. It was even more noticeable now with his enhanced color vision. “It’s something of a relationship milestone, you could say.” 

Curiously, Duck studied his eyes. “Is there somethin’ on Earth that you can compare it to so I can understand a li’l better?” 

“It’s like…” Indrid thought, trying to find a good parallel. “It’s like asking someone on a first official date.” 

“Oh,” Duck breathed, giving him a lovestruck grin. “ _Indrid_. You _like_ me!”

Chittering, Indrid mumbled, “I’m aware.” 

“Can I hug you?” 

Indrid noticed for the first time that Duck was blushing. With a twitch of his antennae, he heard how fast the ranger’s heart was beating, and he felt a little less nervous, knowing that his crush was nervous, too. “Okay,” he said quietly, reaching his arms forward. 

Happily, Duck moved closer and leaned into the hug. His arms fit perfectly between Indrid’s two sets of arms, so the hug was extra cozy. After a couple of minutes, Indrid moved to lay down so the cuddles could continue more comfortably. Duck was laying partially on top of Indrid and partially on the edge of the couch, using his mane as a pillow and hugging him closely. 

“I feel like I’ve been really fuckin’ cool about this love potion thing,” Duck said after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “Like, I haven’t even been complimentin’ you too much, even though I kinda want to constantly.” 

Indrid chattered with amusement, laughing the way he did in this form. “I’d say you’re generally pretty cool, yeah,” he responded. 

Then he felt Duck start to nuzzle his neck, and his purrs got higher pitched from shyness. The ranger took several deep breaths. “Are you… smelling me?” Indrid asked.

“Uh, maybe?” Duck lifted his head to look at Indrid. “Okay, yeah, I was, sorry. Y’just smell good. Is that weird? God, I can stop if y’want. It’s weird.” 

Indrid lifted his wings from his sides to wrap around Duck, pulling him closer. “It’s not weird,” he said softly. “It’s just different from what I’m used to. But there’s nothing wrong with it.” 

Duck looked at him cautiously for a few more moments before laying his head where it was before. Indrid felt giddy knowing his natural scent was appealing to the ranger. Of course, moth people convert the nectar they drink into floral scents for communication purposes, so he smelled like flowers. But just having the knowledge that Duck liked that made him blush.

He needed to change the subject so he wouldn’t combust from happiness. “How’s the progress on the poems?” 

The human lifted his head and beamed at Indrid. “I’ve finished one,” he said, sounding triumphantly. “I think if it’s on the second page with a couple’a pictures of us, it’d be real cute.” 

Indrid tilted his head curiously. “Am I allowed to see it?” 

Duck took a deep breath, clearly deep in thought. “How ‘bout you can see the finished pages of the scrapbook, an’ only what I specifically show you in my notebook?” 

The sylph purred quietly when Duck settled his head against Indrid’s mane again. “That sounds perfectly fine to me.” 

“Alright, I got another question for ya, though,” he continued. “When you’re all mothy, d’you mind if I take-”

“-pictures of you for the scrapbook?” Indrid finished for him. “No, I don’t mind. If anyone sees it, just tell them I do makeup for broadway.” Duck chuckled, nuzzling him again, and Indrid felt a thrill of joy, like a ray of sunshine in his heart. “And yes, you can take a picture of us now.” 

Happily, Duck got up off the couch to retrieve his polaroid camera. He took one ‘regular’ selfie with Indrid, both of them smiling happily. Then he kissed the side of Indrid’s mandible and snapped a picture of that, too. Indrid squeaked and chittered shyly, his heart pounding.

“Was that okay?” Duck asked, voice quiet. Indrid just nodded, and the ranger smiled deviously. “Can I kiss you more?” 

Shyly, Indrid nodded again. “Just… not on the lips. I think we should wait until the potion’s effects are over.”

“That makes sense,” Duck said. He crawled on top of Indrid like a giant, fluffy pillow, leaning up with his elbows on either side of the cryptid’s face. He pressed a kiss to his forehead. “You’re so fuckin’ cute, and smart, and caring.” 

He couldn’t stop the loud purrs. 

Duck chuckled. “An’ fluffy. I love it.” He kissed Indrid’s temple. “I’m so damn happy I found you. Y’make me happy.” He couldn’t help but chitter in the wave of butterflies Duck was giving him. The blush on his face could probably melt steel. “Alright, alright. I’ll stop.” 

Indrid finally found his voice. It was strained with shyness. “You… don’t have to stop.” 

The ranger grinned down at him and then kissed his heart-shaped nose. He squeaked, making Duck laugh. “Good, because I didn’t actually want to.” His grin softened. “You’re real precious t’me, Indrid Cold.” 

With a shy whine, Indrid turned his head to hide it in the back of the couch. “An’ I love spendin’ time with you,” Duck continued sweetly. “You’re so gentle an’ thoughtful. A real sweetie.” There was a pause, then Indrid felt Duck’s hand stroking his cheek. He turned his head back to meet his eyes, feeling his heart melt at the soft expression on the human’s face. “Can I call you pet names?” 

“Yeah,” he squeaked, voice rumbly with purrs. 

Duck gently ran his fingers through the mane on Indrid’s chest. “My li’l moth,” he mumbled, giving another kiss to Indrid’s mandible. “My handsome darlin’.” Indrid could feel the heat radiating from Duck’s heavily blushing face as he nuzzled the seer’s neck again. “My sweet honeybun.” 

“Okay, now it’s time to stop,” Indrid declared. He felt like he’d completely melted, and now he absolutely couldn’t handle more sweet talk. “I absolutely love everything you’re saying, but I’m getting overwhelmed with the strength of my emotions, so…” 

“Alright, darlin’,” Duck said gently, laying more of his weight on him. The weight was comfortably heavy and somehow made Indrid relaxed. 

After a couple of silent minutes of cuddling, Indrid realized Duck was drifting off to sleep. He gently tucked his wings around them, blanketing the human in them and holding him close. Purring, he felt so relaxed and happy, more than he’d felt in a long time. 

And he fell asleep, too.

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	9. Chapter 9

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When Duck came to, he woke up slowly, the extreme comfort making it difficult for him to open his eyes. He realized that he was laying on top of Indrid like a big, fluffy pillow, and he snuggled up close to him happily, smiling broadly. The movement seemed to wake up the sylph just enough to make him purr again, and it melted Duck’s heart. 

He really, really wanted a picture of Indrid like this.

Oh-so-carefully, he slowly maneuvered himself off of Indrid so he could grab his camera from the nearby table. Turning to look at Indrid again, Duck sighed happily at seeing him so peaceful. He was so _pretty_ , the pink and yellow contrasting in a beautiful way in delicate patterns.

Covering the flash with one hand, Duck took the picture, grinning as the camera spit it out. He set it on the nearby table with the camera and quietly cuddled up to Indrid’s side again with a happy hum. 

A slow purr began. The seer was waking up. “Sorry t’disturb ya,” Duck whispered, stroking his mane. He was sitting up on an elbow so he could look down lovingly at Indrid.

The sylph only purred louder and just barely opened an eye to look at Duck, all squinty with happiness and comfort. “It’s alright, dear,” he mumbled, closing his eye again and nuzzling the ranger’s shoulder. 

Duck grinned, feeling his face heat up with a blush. He _loved_ being called pet names, most especially when Indrid was the one giving him the pet name. “Aww. You called me ‘dear,’” he said quietly, his voice thrumming with happiness. 

Indrid looked up at him, finally opening all of his eyes. “Am I not meant to?” He seemed a little worried.

So Duck stroked Indrid’s cheek until he relaxed again. “You can call me whatever y’want,” he said reverently. He bit back the next thing he wanted to say. ‘ _I’ll love you no matter what_.’

The seer’s eyes got wider and Duck realized in other timelines he must have said that out loud. A little nervously, he laughed quietly. “Uh, y’don’t- there’s no pressure,” he said, gently tracing Indrid’s mandible with his thumb. “You, uh, it’s- we have time. You don’t have to say it now.” 

Indrid let out a little breath of relief, calming down. “Okay,” he murmured, leaning into the touch. “It’s… well, I do have some strong feelings for you, Duck. But I’d rather wait until the potion wears off to tell you exactly how I feel.” 

Duck felt like he was floating, he was so happy. Indrid had _basically_ said he was in love with Duck, in some roundabout way, and just the thought of it made every nerve in his body sing. His cheeks hurt from how hard he was smiling. 

“I didn’t even say it yet,” Indrid giggled, narrowing his eyes at Duck. “Don’t look so proud of yourself.” 

Duck leaned down to press his forehead against Indrid’s. “I just… I have ‘strong feelings’ for you, too, an’ the thought of you returnin’ ‘em makes me feel like the happiest fuckin’ person alive.” He felt a little flutter of fondness as he felt Indrid’s face radiate more warmth. “You blushin’?” 

“Yeah,” Indrid grumbled good-naturedly. Then, he whispered, “You… make me happy, too.”

He couldn’t help himself. He _had_ to kiss Indrid. But, he wanted to be respectful of the pace Indrid was setting for the relationship, so he just pulled back enough to kiss him on the forehead. The answering purrs were deafening. 

After a moment of Duck just gazing lovingly at Indrid, the sylph blinking back at him, he murmured, “You have the prettiest eyes.” 

Indrid giggled. “Even if there’s six of them?” 

“Yeah,” Duck chuckled. “They’re a real nice color.” The sclera were a brighter red, while the irises were a deep scarlet. His pupils were vertical slits like a cat’s, and they were an even darker red. From a distance, it might look like the eyes were one flat red color, but Duck got a close-up-and-personal view. And he loved it.

The sylph averted his eyes shyly. “Nobody’s told me that before in this form,” he said softly. The pink fur on his cheeks got a bit brighter with his blush. 

“They should,” Duck told him sincerely. “Your eyes are gorgeous.” Carefully, he used a knuckle to move Indrid’s chin to face Duck, until his eyes followed and met the ranger’s. “In both forms, they’re so fuckin’ pretty.” 

“Thanks,” Indrid breathed, holding the intense eye contact with Duck. 

After a quiet moment, Duck looked away and sat up. “It’s my turn to pick the movie,” he said, stretching. “What else you got?” Indrid showed him the stash of movies, and the ranger picked out an animated Disney movie he’d seen dozens of times. “Hell yeah. This is such a comfortin’ movie.” 

“I agree,” Indrid said, stretching his wings as best he could. “Let’s start it, then.”

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	10. Chapter 10

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After the movie, Indrid sat up and yawned. He’d curled up around Duck, holding him close and purring in a half-asleep dozing state for the whole movie. “Mornin’, sunshine,” the ranger told him with a soft smile, rolling over so he could look at his face. “How’re you feelin’?” 

“Hungry,” he replied, as that’s the first word that came to his mind. “Would you like to go somewhere for dinner?” 

A big grin slowly spread itself across Duck’s face. “Are you askin’ me out on a date?” 

Indrid hadn’t even thought of it that way, but now that he’d mentioned it… “Sure, if you think getting waffles at the local diner is a date.” 

Duck laughed, grabbing Indrid’s hand. “I’d like nothin’ more than to go on a waffle date w’you, Indrid Cold.” The blush on his face was probably pinker than his furry mane. “That’s prob’ly the most formal we can go with the clothes I brought for a sleepover, anyway.”

“Alright,” Indrid told him. He reached for his glasses and set them on, and stretched luxuriously now that he had the room to do so in this form. “I’ll get ready in the restroom, you can get dressed out here.” 

“Sure,” Duck said, pulling out some jeans and a t-shirt with a sunrise coming up over the mountains depicted on it.

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After the two were ready, they climbed into Duck’s truck and set off for the diner. They had a pleasant dinner, talking and laughing together. Duck paid for the meal, but Indrid left a large tip for the waitress, and the look that Duck gave the seer when he noticed it made Indrid feel extremely loved.

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After the date, Indrid wanted to wear pajamas again. He hadn’t actually worn _jeans_ in a while, mostly just sweatpants, and the seams were actually not great sensory-wise. He immediately changed into lounge clothes when they returned to the winnebago. Duck did the same. 

“I’m gonna work on the scrapbook and that journal for a li’l while,” Duck said distractedly. In the quiet moments on the drive back to Indrid’s winnebago, he’d had some good ideas. 

Indrid did his best not to look at visions involving the scrapbook and journal, but it was difficult. He was very curious. However, he knew Duck would share when he was ready, so he was content to wait. To distract himself, he started drawing out his visions.

When Duck’s hand gently touched his shoulder, he set down his pencil with a deep sigh. He rubbed his eye behind his glasses. “What time is it?” 

“Eleven,” Duck said, sounding a little guilty. “Sorry, I just- I got distracted workin’ on the scrapbook, too, an’ I forgot to get ready for bed until now.” 

“It’s alright,” Indrid replied, yawning. He pushed the pile of drawings away from himself and stood up. “I just need to brush my teeth and I’m set.”

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After getting ready for bed, Indrid paused. “Are you sure you want to sleep here?” he asked Duck tentatively. He had enjoyed snuggling the night before, but if Duck was to sleep here, he’d probably have to sleep on the couch instead of with Indrid. Otherwise it would be a tight fit.

“Yeah,” Duck said, sitting down on Indrid’s bed with a yawn. He reached out his arms, inviting Indrid to a warm hug. He snuggled into the embrace happily. “Can I sleep in your bed? It… smells like you.” His voice was soft with shyness.

How could he say no to that? It was cute enough to melt his heart. “Sure.” After a moment, Indrid yawned. With a sigh, he left Duck’s hug and stood up. “I suppose I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said quietly.

Duck whined and did grabby hands, making Indrid laugh. The grin on Duck’s face told him that was intentional. “C’mon, y’don’t wanna sleep w’me again?” 

“Of course I do,” Indrid said with a gentle smile. He took Duck’s hand in his own. “But there’s no room.” 

Duck scooted back, laying on his side and pressing himself against the wall. There was enough room for Indrid to lay on his back if he wanted. “C’mere,” he said, holding out his arms again. 

Indrid laid down in his embrace, resting his forehead against Duck’s chest. He felt so _safe_ behind held like this. He smiled as the ranger started talking. “My sweet darlin’,” he sighed, petting Indrid’s hair. “How’d I get so lucky?” Indrid started purring. “‘M so glad I have you.” 

“I’m glad I have you, too,” Indrid replied, voice rumbly with purrs. He watched as Duck very quickly fell asleep. He must have been more tired than the sylph realized.

By contrast, Indrid had a hard time falling asleep. Luckily, he could watch the object of his affection sleep, timing his breaths with Duck’s, feeling comfortable and peaceful. It was much better than staring at the ceiling and agonizing over visions, which is what he normally did when he couldn’t sleep.

Then Duck mumbled something quietly. Surprised, Indrid listened for what he was saying. “Indrid?” 

“I’m here,” he whispered, his thumb rubbing the back of Duck’s hand where he was holding it. “Go back to sleep.” 

Duck just hummed and did as he was told, slipping back into slumber. It was so _cute_ that Indrid couldn’t stop the lovestruck smile from finding its way to his face. Full of love for Duck, Indrid cuddled closer and finally fell asleep.

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	11. Chapter 11

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When Indrid woke up, it was because he was startled out of his dream. Or rather, his nightmare. He watched as dark shadows overcame his old home in Sylvain, the Quell claiming it for good. Shivering, he touched his face to feel tears on his cheeks. 

Homesickness hit him like a tidal wave. 

He knew if he came back that he might be forced back into his position as court seer under threat of exile. It was a risk even just to visit. But maybe it would be worth it, one last time, just to soothe this ache in his heart. 

“Indrid?” Duck mumbled. He sat up, his hair messy from sleeping, blinking himself awake. “You okay?”

“Um,” Indrid said, quickly wiping his tears. “Yes?” It was unconvincing. 

“Can I hold you?” Duck asked, opening his arms and holding them out. Indrid crawled into them gratefully and held onto Duck like a lifeline. “You wanna talk about it?” 

Indrid slowly nodded, leaning his head against Duck’s shoulder. “I just… had a nightmare about the Quell,” he sighed. “I know it’s… it’s not silly, it’s a very real threat. But I don’t live on Sylvain anymore. I don’t need to worry about that.” 

“It’s okay to be worried ‘bout your home,” Duck said quietly, rubbing Indrid’s back. “Y’spent a lotta time there. You’re allowed to care about Sylvain.” 

Indrid took a deep breath. “Yeah,” he finally agreed. “I suppose I’m just homesick for the first time in a long time. And I’m too nervous to go back to see what’s left.” 

“What if I went with you?” Duck asked, resting his chin on top of Indrid’s head. “I could help ya feel safer.” 

He pondered the thought. Going with Duck to Sylvain, seeing the familiar landscapes and breathing in the sweet air… the thought made him giddy. 

He hadn’t been to Sylvain in over a century. At first it was because he was ashamed for not completing his mission to find a way to save Sylvain, then it was because he didn’t want to return to his duties as court seer. But, looking closely at his visions, it was unlikely that he would be exiled for refusing the position. 

Indrid took a deep, shaky breath. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s go to Sylvain.”

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Duck’s hand brushed Indrid’s as they walked through the forest to the Gate, and Indrid tried not to get too distracted by it. But it was difficult. 

He was distracted, thinking about his relationship with the ranger. Duck clearly held affection for him before the love potion, and he had expressed even more affection once he’d taken it. He knew Duck would be happy and excited to hold his hand. All he had to do was reach out and take it. 

“Hey,” Duck said, bumping his shoulder against Indrid’s. “Sylvain’ll still be there. It’s okay.” 

Indrid forced a smile. “Yeah, I know.” He was nervous about returning to Sylvain, but would feel better with Duck by his side. And there’s no time like the present. 

Pressing his crystal necklace against the Gate, it began to glow before the portal opened. To hell with it - Indrid grabbed Duck’s hand. The ranger gave him a sweet smile that made his worries melt into warmth in his chest. Then he stepped through the portal, pulling Duck along with him. 

He was faced with the guards. “Halt,” one of them said. “What is your business here?” 

Indrid sighed and pulled off his glasses. “Court Seer Cold,” he said with a small bow. Stunned, the guards bowed back. “I’m here on personal business. This is my associate from Earth, Duck Newton.” Duck gave them a little wave, and they stepped aside.

“Enjoy your time in Sylvain, then,” the other guard said, eyes wide. Indrid knew that the gossip would spread quickly: the long-estranged seer had returned. He hoped he wouldn’t be confronted about it before leaving. 

Indrid turned to Duck and took his hand again. “Would you hold onto my glasses?” he asked, voice soft. “I’m just going to stay in this form for now to avoid questions.” 

Duck nodded, tucking them securely in his front pocket. “Sure thing, babe.” 

Indrid felt his cheeks warm up in a blush that was probably pinker than his mane. “Alright,” he squeaked, squeezing Duck’s hand. 

The ranger grinned up at him as they walked. “Aww. I forgot how easy y’are to fluster.” 

“Mind yourself,” Indrid mumbled. “You’re talking to the Court Seer, here.” Duck only laughed in response, and Indrid couldn’t help but laugh, too. Then they were outside. 

Indrid closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. The air tasted so much different than it did on Earth. Suddenly, he had a realization, and his eyes snapped open. “I can fly,” he said in wonder. “Without fear of being seen.”

“Well, if y’wanna go have a li’l fly around, I’ll be here looking at the Court garden,” Duck said, tilting his head toward the garden beside them. 

Indrid nodded, feeling giddy, and spread his wings before jumping high into the air, his wings catching the wind like sails as he climbed higher into the sky. He laughed in exhilaration, circling the topmost spire of the Court.

Duck didn’t move, just watching with a grin. He was so carefree and happy that it was contagious. He reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out the camera. He snapped a quick polaroid of the garden to remember this moment - the camera wouldn’t be able to pick up Indrid at such a distance, but the garden was beautiful and right there while Indrid flew above. Duck made sure to commit to memory how he would write about Indrid flying beside the pasted-in photo in the scrapbook. 

When Indrid landed, he was beaming. He fluttered his wings in delight as he walked toward Duck. “This is amazing,” he said, taking Duck’s hands in his own. “Come on. I want to show you the countryside.” 

“How’re we gonna get there, though?” Duck asked curiously. He hadn’t seen any cars in Sylvain. 

Indrid tilted his head. “We’d fly there, if you feel comfortable doing so.” 

Nervously, Duck shifted. “How would that work?” 

“You could climb onto my back and hold on tight,” Indrid explained, “and I’ll hold onto your arms, too, to keep you steady. Once you get comfortable, you can look over my shoulder to see the land below. I’ve done it before, it’s safe.” 

Indrid watched as Duck took a deep breath. “Okay. I trust you,” the ranger said, and that sent a happy thrill through him. 

He crouched down for Duck to climb onto him piggyback-style and hold onto him tightly. He used his future vision to ensure Duck wouldn’t fall off - in the futures he falls, Indrid catches him every time - before jumping high in the air like before. This time, he held Duck’s arms around his neck tightly to keep him in place, and began soaring horizontally so there was less of a chance of him slipping. 

“Are you okay?” he shouted. The wind was whipping around them, especially each time he flapped his wings to keep them aloft. Indrid felt Duck nod against the back of his neck.

Silently, he kept up a slow pace of flying, soaring peacefully over the landscape below. After a couple of minutes, Duck wriggled to look over his shoulder and gasped. It was _beautiful_ \- rolling hills of forest were beneath them with small meadows dotted across the landscape. There was plenty of Sylvain not yet captured by the Quell, and they were both glad to see it. 

Indrid spied a cliffside he thought would be a good place to land. He carefully held out his wings in the right way to slow down and flapped slowly to let him land securely on the ground. Then he crouched down again so Duck could let go of him. 

Turning around, Indrid saw Duck’s face full of wonder. “That was incredible,” he breathed, taking Indrid’s hands. Then he looked down, and he leaned down to pick up a fallen feather. “You dropped something,” he teased. 

Indrid shrugged. “It happens.” Then he saw in his visions what Duck was about to do, but it didn’t prepare him for it at all. 

Duck tucked it behind his ear, giving Indrid a sweet smile. 

Indrid sputtered, feeling his cheeks get hot with a deep blush. “I’m- _Duck_!” he said, putting his hand over his mouth. 

“What?” he asked, faux-innocent. 

“I-I’m not- I’m not saying _no_ , but- this is- it’s a little soon, don’t you think?” He couldn’t stop himself from stuttering.

But Duck just looked confused. “What’re you talkin’ about?”

Oh. _Oh_. Indrid breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry, I forgot you didn’t know,” he said, calming down. The blush on his cheeks didn’t fade. “It’s… well, it’s a cultural difference.” 

Duck removed the feather - which gave Indrid an odd sense of disappointment - and looked at it in his hands. “Sorry if I offended ya,” he said quietly. 

“No, no,” Indrid reassured him, stepping closer and taking his hands. “You just- it’s sort of, um, wearing your lover’s feathers is something engaged people do when preparing for telling others about an upcoming wedding. It could be seen as a proposal.” 

“Oh,” Duck gasped, turning bright red. Indrid was glad he wasn’t the only one feeling shy at that moment. “Sorry, I, uh, I didn’t mean it like that. We only just started dating.” 

“I know,” Indrid laughed, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. “I didn’t see it far enough ahead of time to warn you. It was such a split-second thing, and I was distracted by landing.” 

“That’s okay,” Duck said. “Am I allowed to drop it?” he asked, only half-joking. 

“Yes,” Indrid giggled, and they watched the breeze take it as he dropped it, sending it over the side of the cliff. The sylph sat down, giving a hand to Duck to help him sit beside him, cross-legged by the cliff’s edge. “This is really nice.” 

Duck nodded. “I’ve never been sightseein’ in Sylvain before,” he said, momentarily looking over the landscape. It was lovely, similar to Earth in that there were trees and lakes and hills, but foreign because he didn’t recognize a single tree species - and Duck _knew_ trees.

Indrid took a deep, relaxing breath as he took in the view. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Duck breathed. When Indrid turned, he saw that Duck hadn’t taken his eyes off of him. “It is.”

Indrid huffed, gently nudging him with a wing. “You’re a complete sap,” he laughed. 

“Only when it comes to you!” Duck protested, grinning.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, the lyrics are by Sheepy @ sheepycloud.tumblr.com <3 thanks Sheepy!

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The pair eventually returned to Earth, and Indrid put his glasses back on. Then they went back to Indrid’s winnebago to collect their things before heading to Duck’s apartment. 

“Scrapbook time,” Duck declared, opening his door. Burrito greeted him with a mew. “Uh, feedin’ the cat time, _then_ scrapbook time.” 

“Okay,” Indrid giggled. He reached down to pet Duck’s cat as she meowed at them.

Then Indrid hummed and sat on the couch. He grabbed his sketchbook, while Duck got out his journal and scrapbook to keep working on them. 

First, Indrid started drawing out a vision of Duck carefully tying a sapling to a support stake in the forest. It made his chest warm to think of his sweet, caring boyfriend. Then he started blushing. Was Duck his boyfriend? They’d been on a date and clearly cared a lot about each other, so most likely, yes. Lost in his thoughts, Indrid was startled when Duck took a picture of him.

“Sorry,” he chuckled, setting the polaroid picture aside. “You just got this li’l smile on your face. It was real cute.” 

“You may as well take a picture of the drawing to put in the scrapbook, as well,” Indrid sighed good-naturedly, turning the sketchbook around for Duck to see. 

Delighted, he took a picture of Indrid holding it with a happy little smile. “You’re fuckin’ gorgeous,” he sighed, putting the camera beside the two pictures on his coffee table. He sat beside Indrid, holding the TV remote. “Pick out a movie, darlin’.”

Blushing, Indrid got up and rifled through Duck’s DVD collection before settling on a basic romantic comedy he’d already seen. It was relaxing to not have to care about spoilers for once. “Good choice,” Duck commented with a grin. “Now who’s the sap?” 

Indrid giggled and set it up to play, then sat beside Duck on the couch. “Still you,” he answered before wrapping his arm around Duck’s shoulders. 

Duck handed him the journal he’d been writing in the past few days. “You can look through it if y’want,” he said, biting his lip nervously. 

Curious, Indrid paused the movie, then pulled the journal into his lap and opened it to the first page. He grinned at seeing a little doodle of a moth with a heart beside it at the top of the page. Duck felt a happy thrill go through him at Indrid’s smile.

The rest of the page was lyrics, clearly the very first draft of a poem, as there were many crossed out words and markings all around it. Then it was rewritten, then edited again. A third and fourth draft were on the next pages, and then the final version was on the fifth page. “That’s gonna be in the scrapbook,” Duck said tentatively, hands on his chin.

In particular, Indrid’s favorite lines were, _“indrid cold swept me off my feet in one swoop / i love that man more than french onion soup”_ \- probably the best compliment he could have received from Duck. Precious.

Indrid looked up. “You’re a very talented poet, Duck,” he said, and he was satisfied to see Duck blush. Inside, he was doing his best not to just completely _melt_. Duck had written about how happy Indrid makes him.

The next pages made Indrid get increasingly more emotional. They were just so _loving_. Duck had done little sketches of his moth form with the rest of the page covered in extremely kind sentiments, such as “Indrid’s feathers are gorgeous,” “His colors are beautiful,” “He’s so soft and warm,” “I love his sylph form,” and more.

“Duck,” he said, his voice strained with emotion. He moved the journal before any of his tears could fall on it. “It’s-” He couldn’t finish his sentence, swallowing to try to cover up the emotion in his voice. “You’re so sweet,” he said brokenly.

“Aw, darlin’,” Duck said softly, hugging him from the side. “I didn’t mean t’make you cry.” 

“I know,” Indrid sniffled. “It’s just-” With a fingertip, he traced over some of the hearts Duck had doodled beside a tiny cartoonish moth drawing. “Nobody’s ever loved me like this.” 

Duck kissed his cheek, then reached over to the side table for a box of tissues, handing one to Indrid. “I know you prob’ly want me to wait to say it ‘til after the potion wears off,” he said. “But you know I do.”

Indrid nodded shakily and wrapped his arms around Duck, pulling him into a tight hug. He’d never felt this specific type of happiness before: knowing someone adored him for his real self. Duck wasn’t dating him to gain power, nor out of curiosity, for manipulation, or anything else. It was just genuine love. 

“Your moth form is amazing, Indrid,” Duck told him sincerely. “I hope you know that.” 

He wiped his eyes. “I... almost everybody thinks it’s monstrous, even in Sylvain,” he lamented. “I don’t understand how you love me like that.”

“You don’t gotta understand it,” the ranger responded, kissing his cheek. “Now why don’t you take your glasses off,” Duck murmured, “and we can snuggle an’ watch this movie?” 

Indrid pulled back from the hug to take off his glasses, setting them aside before wrapping his wings around Duck and pulling him close. He pressed play on the remote and watched the comfortingly predictable movie, purring quietly as his love was pressed up against his side.

He wanted to hold onto Duck and never let go.

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	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poem lyrics are by Sheepy @ sheepycloud.tumblr.com  
> Thanks Sheepy!!

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“I think I’m calmed down now,” Indrid said softly as the movie’s credits started rolling. He’d been snuggled up with Duck for nearly the whole movie, only pausing for a lunch break. 

“Good,” Duck responded. He used his palm to stroke over Indrid’s wing that was wrapped around him, and the sylph trilled happily. “Is this okay?” 

Indrid smiled. “Yes,” he answered. “It’s… nice.” It was relaxing, like when someone played with his hair. Soothing. He purred as Duck’s hands ran over his wings.

“Can I give ya compliments or are you gonna spontaneously combust?” Duck asked with a crooked grin. 

“I only just calmed down from the ones in your journal,” Indrid complained half-heartedly, pulling Duck closer. “But okay. You can say _one_ thing.” 

“Oh, I gotta make it count, then,” Duck chuckled, thinking. He leaned in and kissed Indrid’s heart-shaped nose, and he chirped happily in response. “You’re real cute, darlin’.” 

Indrid chittered, a noise he often made when shy. “So are you,” he replied, and was pleased by the little blush on Duck’s face. “You can dish it, but you can’t take it, hmm?” 

“It’s not that,” Duck protested, voice higher pitched in an effort to lie. “I just… Uh, I take- I can take- compliments. I do them well.” His grimace made Indrid laugh. “I’m lyin’. I don’t take compliments very well.”

“I can see that,” he hummed, grinning mischievously. “But, my handsome Duck, you deserve to hear nice things.” He giggled as Duck hid his face in Indrid’s mane, blushing deeply. “My sweet dear,” he cooed, rubbing Duck’s back. “You’re so lovely.” 

“Okay, I get it,” Duck muttered, rubbing his cheek with his hand. “Y’made your point.” 

“Have I?” Indrid asked, brushing his mandibles against the top of Duck’s head gently. His happiness clearly shined through in his voice. “So you know how amazing you are?” 

“Stooop,” Duck complained, grinning. Indrid kissed his forehead, purring. “I get it. Y’like me almost as much as I like you.” The sylph laughed. “I’m gonna work on my fuckin’ scrapbook so y’won’t make me melt into a goddamn puddle.”

Indrid pulled back from the snuggling and stretched, careful not to knock anything over with his wings. “Can I look at your journal?” he asked hesitantly, smiling hopefully. 

“Ugh, sure,” Duck said, pretending to be annoyed. “Jus’ ‘cause you’re so damn cute, I _guess_.” 

“Not my fault,” Indrid said with a grin, grabbing the journal from the coffee table and setting it in his lap. He also put on his glasses again, sighing comfortably because the couch suddenly had more room for the both of them. “Should I just flip through, or is there a specific section that might be of particular interest?” 

Duck paused from where he was pasting a polaroid picture into the scrapbook. “‘Bout ten pages in I started brainstormin’ ideas to write about, made a li’l compilation of some’a my favorite memories with you. They’re jus’ in the order I remembered ‘em.” 

Indrid flipped until he found the pages Duck was talking about. On the way, he saw a page filled with hearts and Indrid’s name in cursive, and it made him giggle. He blushed deeply at seeing a small “Indrid Newton?” in the margins, probably inspired by the feather incident. 

Then he found the correct pages, and he read them curiously.

 

_”A) that one time Indrid wore eyeliner & I couldn’t stop looking at him because he was so pretty_

_B) the first time I made Indrid laugh so fuckin hard and I got dazzled by how cute he is when he fucking loses it laughing_

_C) the time I almost kissed Indrid a few days ago before the potion - I was saying thank you for something, and I put my hand on his cheek for a second and looked in his eyes, and then chickened out instead of kissing him because I was too shy because he’s too cute_

_D) that one time a couple of weeks ago that Indrid was sleepy and snuggled up to my side before falling asleep on my shoulder and it was probably the best moment of my life so far_

_E) one time Indrid saved me during a bombom battle using his mothy form and I had to help him patch up his wing later but all I could think about was how soft Indrid's feathers are. I was purposefully really slow helping out so I could look at the pretty patterns of his wings_

_F) oh and the time I got really spooked by a movie that was unexpectedly scary, so Indrid stayed over at my apartment that night so I wouldn't be nervous and alone. I think that’s when I realized how deeply caring Indrid is._

_G) earlier when Indrid called me "dear" and how I felt like my heart skipped a beat_

_H) I’m just real thankful to have Indrid in my life - he knows things other people don't and has been there for me even when I didn't want to have anyone around_

_I) yknow when depression says ‘hiss’ at the thought of anyone actually being around you, and so you try to push them away, but ten minutes later you realize how much less lonely and sad you feel having the person there? And just realizing the sweetness of them staying even though you were rude a few minutes ago? Indrid’s been that person for me too many times to count and he’s helped me through so much.” ___

__

__“Aww, Duck,” Indrid said, looking up and smiling. He couldn’t talk about the strength of his emotions he felt reading most of these, but he knew he could address one of them. “I knew you were going to kiss me.”_ _

__“What, an’ you didn’t wanna pick up my slack?” Duck asked, lifting an eyebrow._ _

__Indrid laughed. “I’m shy too, you know,” he responded. “Even if I can see it would go well, I’m not great at making the first move.”_ _

__Duck rolled his eyes. “An’ now you won’t _let_ me kiss you.” His voice was lighthearted, but Indrid could hear the yearning in his voice. _ _

__With a wider, more mischievous smile, Indrid leaned into Duck’s space. “Do you want me to kiss you?” he purred. His heart was thumping, but he was too happy to care about being shy._ _

__Wide-eyed, Duck nodded silently. Indrid giggled and moved in closer, lightly brushing his lips against Duck’s before pressing a soft kiss to them. Then he leaned back to gage Duck’s reaction._ _

__He was giving Indrid the most lovestruck expression he’d ever seen. Just being looked at in that way made his cheeks grow hot with a blush._ _

__

____

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	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poem lyrics are by Sheepy @ sheepycloud.tumblr.com  
> Thanks Sheepy!! <3

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“I think I’m done with the scrapbook,” Duck declared, holding it up triumphantly. It was a small book, but Indrid was still impressed that he filled it up so quickly. 

Eagerly, he snuggled to Duck’s side, wanting to look through it together. 

Seeing the photos of them together made him grin without realizing it, and the little captions Duck put by them were adorable. Plus, the little decorations like patterned hearts and such were just precious. Duck had put so much time and energy into this, and Indrid appreciated it very much.

Beside one photo, there was the following poem:

 

_"i'm just but a simple man, because damn  
i can't believe the sandman just let my dreams come true  
superglued me to you, my love for you fits like a fuckin' shoe  
and when you said "it's the love potion affecting you"  
tried to tell you it was untrue, but you withdrew  
but god, i love you indrid cold, and i want to grow old  
holding you in my arms. let my love for you unfold,  
let me pawn you my soul, because it dawns on me that without you i just can't be whole"_

 

Indrid noticed that he sighed dreamily without even consciously meaning to, and he couldn’t stop the little blush on his cheeks as he read the next poem.

 

_"y'all don't know just how soft, indrid is as a mothman -  
he huffs and snuffs, and it's cute as hell when he puffs  
and i swear to god he purrs for sure, and i swear to god it makes my world  
he tries hard to keep it reserved even when i tell him it's superb  
and i observe that he's adverse to his purr but i can confirm that it makes me curse before his name  
and i can't understand why he's so ashamed, when all he does is gleam  
and with an inhale the monster slayer is slain  
because he can't refrain from loving something so inhumane"_

 

“Before you get to the last page,” Duck said softly, using one of his knuckles to tilt Indrid’s chin toward him. The seer looked into his eyes with a warm smile. “I want you to know the potion’s worn off.” 

“What, really?” Indrid asked, suddenly nervous. But Duck swooped in and started peppering kisses on his lips and cheeks until he was laughing. “H-how do you know?” 

“My mind’s been wanderin’ like normal since we kissed,” Duck said. “Whereas before I could only really think ‘bout you.” 

“But you still did the scrapbook,” Indrid said, confused. 

Duck chuckled. “I was gonna do it before the potion, remember? I’d already started it.” Indrid shrugged and nodded. “Look at the last page, darlin’.”

It was a little letter to Indrid. He smiled at how Duck had written his name in fancy cursive, but the rest was in print.

 

_”Dear Indrid -_

_If I had known from the start that this love potion would make me devote myself to telling you about my feelings for you, I would’ve drank that potion immediately. I’m so happy to be with you._

_Love,  
Duck”_

 

“I wrote it after I realized the potion wore off,” Duck explained, looking into Indrid’s eyes adoringly. His voice got softer as he picked up Indrid’s hand, pressing a kiss to each knuckle. “I love you so much, Indrid Cold.”

Tears in his eyes, Indrid wrapped his arms around Duck and held him tightly. “I love you, too,” he whispered, feeling more complete than he ever had.

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End file.
